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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pit — a hole
  6. march — the month
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. race — a contest
  9. spring — a coil
  10. race — humankind
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. march — the month
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. march — music
  19. bat — the animal
  20. board — to get on
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. board — a flat piece

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com